solve
Americanverb (used with object)
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solves,
present (3rd person singular)
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solved,
past participle, past
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solving
present participle
verb
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to find the explanation for or solution to (a mystery, problem, etc)
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maths
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to work out the answer to (a problem)
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to obtain the roots of (an equation)
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Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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solvesimple
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solvessimple
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have solvedperfect
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has solvedperfect
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am solvingprogressive
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are solvingprogressive
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is solvingprogressive
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have been solvingperfect progressive
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has been solvingperfect progressive
Past
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solvedsimple
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had solvedperfect
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was solvingprogressive
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were solvingprogressive
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had been solvingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of solve
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English solven, from Latin solvere “to loosen, free, release”
Explanation
To solve something is to find a solution, like figuring out the answer to a complex riddle. The verb solve is often used in mathematics, and it means to answer a math problem. You can solve other, non-mathematical problems too — like the question of what to wear when you've run out of clean clothes (your sibling's clothes!). The word solve originally came from the Latin solvere, which meant "to loosen or untie." If you think of any kind of complex problem as a knot, then the original definition of solve still makes sense!
Vocabulary lists containing solve
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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TEKS ELAR Academic Vocabulary List (5th-7th grades)
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"Kids Are Inventors, Too"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The laboratory-grown human retinas offered a new opportunity to solve this longstanding mystery.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 31, 2026
“It takes a while to solve these problems.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 31, 2026
The hypothesis holds that some problems are so hard that computers can solve them only by trying nearly every possible answer.
From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2026
For the seven years that he was on the job, Leroy helped track 156 people, find 57 who were lost in the wilderness, and solve two murders in Banff.
From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026
When they did solve crimes, it was often by accident.
From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day
"We'd like to achieve it. It doesn't solve the war, but at least it solves a unique aspect of it," he added.
From Barron's ● Oct. 31, 2026
“There is still a long journey until Ghana solves ASM challenges.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026
Side-eyeing the people responsible for the problem while dutifully stepping out of their way solves that tricky equation.
From Salon ● Sep. 20, 2026
Building bridges with Europe makes sense, he said: "I think it brings in more money for Canada and more culture, brings Europeans over, probably solves a lot of problems."
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
But my mom always says that running away never solves anything.
From "Finding Junie Kim" by Ellen Oh
They’d love to sell them online, but given the year’s increasing temperatures, the team hasn’t entirely solved direct-to-consumer shipping.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2026
“But murders aren’t solved at night. The main thing is not to hurry, but to concentrate.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2026
She believes things have now improved, although the show hasn't completely solved the problem.
From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2026
“A $4,000 problem can often be solved surprisingly quickly.”
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 23, 2026
Mathematicians ignored the logical and philosophical troubles with adding infinite zeros—especially since indivisibles or infinitesimals, as they came to be called, finally solved a long-standing puzzle: the problem of the tangent.
From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife
But it offers physicists a new possibility for solving one of cosmology's deepest mysteries: how matter survived when its encounter with antimatter could have left the universe almost entirely empty.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 1, 2026
Until now, the same researchers mostly did both the glamorous part of research, solving, and the less glamorous part, verifying and explaining.
From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2026
Those early skills help children approach more complicated challenges as they grow older, such as learning to read and solving math problems.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026
He prioritises solving the problems of Arab Israelis and speaks relatively little of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza.
From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026
“Speaking of solving problems,” said Miss K, “do you think fighting is a good way to settle arguments?”
From "Ralph S. Mouse" by Beverly Cleary
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
